Page 51 of The Agent
She took a step toward him. Roman was fully prepared to wrap his arms around her, to hold her and kiss her and do all sorts of ill-advised things that he wanted more than air. But the sat phone cut out a shrill ring, dousing the moment and making Camila jump.
She cursed under her breath. “Good thing I didn’t need those two years that phone just scared off the end of my life,” she muttered as he grabbed the sat phone and took a deep breath.
“Roman.”
“Agent Roman,” came Calloway’s voice. “We’ve secured the video feed. I’m sending you a link now.”
Roman grabbed the laptop out of the kitchen drawer, plugging it in and flipping it open. It took only seconds to boot up, and he navigated through a set of familiar prompts until a dual screen appeared, showing the FBI field office on one side and Roman’s face on the other.
Adjusting the laptop so he and Camila could share the screen equally, he settled on one of the two bar stools tucked beneath the short stretch of counter space that served as a breakfast bar while Camila sat on the other.
“Good to go,” he said, lifting his chin in acknowledgment when Calloway, Sinclair, and Capelli appeared on the screen. “Have you caught the guy who came after us?”
“Nice to see your work ethic is still alive and kicking,” Calloway said, a wry smile flickering over her mouth before she got right down to it. “Not yet. But a lot has happened in the past few hours. Why don’t we take this from the top? Camila, we haven’t formally met. I’m Special Agent Olivia Calloway. I’ve taken point on this case in conjunction with Sergeant Sinclair, who you obviously know. I understand you’ve been through a lot, both today and last week at the robbery. I can promise we are going to do all that we can to get all three of these robbers off the street and behind bars. Until that happens, I can also promise we’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe.”
“Thank you,” Camila said.
Calloway nodded, then continued. “Capelli is streaming this to the Intelligence office via a secure feed, so the entire unit can see and hear you even though you can’t see and hear them. Future check-ins will likely be between you two and Intelligence, but for situational awareness, this one is just a bit different.”
Capelli looked at Sinclair, his dark blond brows raised behind the dark frames of his glasses. “Confirming that Intelligence is online and connected. Also, that this equipment is definitely something we need to pitch to HQ, because”—he broke off with a low whistle, and yeah, when it came to technology, the FBI didn’t fuck around.
“Noted,” Sinclair said. “Since we’re all present and accounted for, let’s not waste any time. This afternoon, three assailants matching the description of our robbers entered Prosperity Savings and Loan. The M.O. for the robbery was the same as last week’s.”
Capelli clacked out a few keystrokes from beside Sinclair, and a video feed of the street outside the bank popped up in the lower righthand corner of the screen. “They parked just outside the camera’s range, but here they are, entering the bank.”
Sure enough, three people dressed in full tactical gear appeared on the screen, masks on and AR-15s drawn as they approached the bank’s front entrance, then slipped inside.
“That’s definitely them,” Camila said, and Roman agreed.
“They began the robbery according to the same script as the one you witnessed,” Sinclair said, and it didn’t escape Roman’s notice that although they probably had video capturing the second robbery, he didn’t put it on the screen. “The security guard was a rookie police officer picking up extra work at the bank on his days off. He worked the desk here at the Thirty-Third.”
Roman’s chin lifted in realization at the same time his stomach sank with dread. “Bart Barton? The redheaded guy?”
Camila straightened over her bar stool. “Oh, my God. He walked us upstairs the other day.”
“Yes,” Sinclair said. “We believe that when he escorted you to the Intelligence office, he stayed in the hallway and managed to eavesdrop on the update we gave you, as well as on the intel we pieced together while you were here.”
Damn. “So, that’s how he knew Camila saw the smaller robber’s eyes.”
Sinclair nodded. “Witnesses from today’s attempted robbery corroborate that Barton told the robbers what Camila saw and that she was able to produce detailed drawings of the smaller assailant’s eyes. Barton also disclosed our suspicion that the smaller robber is female. A suspicion that’s likely well-founded, because the larger robber grew agitated enough to shoot Barton.”
“Oh, my God.” Camila covered her mouth with one hand. “He died because of what I told you?”
“No,” Roman said at the same time as both Calloway and Sinclair, but Sinclair took the lead on finishing with, “He died because he was shot in cold blood by a man whowillbe held accountable for that crime. No one else is to blame.”
“But Barton must’ve hit a nerve,” Roman said, his mind methodically turning over all the information. Or maybe more than one, since disclosing Intelligence’s potential leads had earned the poor guy a trip to the morgue. “These robbers are clearly worried about it enough to not only kill Barton, but to come after Camila, despite the risk.”
“Well, that’s where things get a bit interesting,” Calloway said. “We’ve gone through the video footage from Camila’s apartment building. We caught the shooter on several different cameras, although he’s smart about keeping his face hidden.”
“He was wearing a baseball hat,” Camila said, and Capelli put a still image of the guy on the screen. “Yes!” Camila said, nodding emphatically. “That’s definitely him.”
But Roman cursed under his breath. “Please tell me there’s a clear shot of his face somewhere.”
Capelli hedged. “There are a few partials we’re trying to work with. So far, no hits on facial rec, although that’s not a fast process.”
Frustration sizzled through Roman’s veins. He knew facial rec wasn’t nearly as instantaneous as it looked on TV, but still. While they might get a hit off a partial, they could also get a big, fat goose egg.
“I could draw him,” Camila ventured. “I mean, I know that’s probably not, like, official, or anything. But I’m never going to forget his face.Ever.” Goose bumps appeared on her arms, but still, she said, “I can draw him. If it will help.”